


You Can't Have Him

by jazzayeet



Series: Detroit: Become Human oneshots [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Family Dynamics, Good lord this is sad, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Made Myself Cry, Other, Protective Hank Anderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 09:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17201066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazzayeet/pseuds/jazzayeet
Summary: “It—it hurts.” Connor choked. “I-I-I’m scared, Hank.”





	You Can't Have Him

Hank punched Perkins again, for what must’ve been the fifth or sixth time, now. Blood was pouring from the agent’s now broken nose, and the skin around his left eye had turned a nasty shade of purple. Hank pulled his fist back for another hit, and—

 _BANG_! A gunshot rang out through the building, echoing up from somewhere downstairs. Hank froze, his fist suspended mere inches away from Perkins’s face, his knuckles bleeding and his heart thundering in his ears. “The fuck was that?” A younger cop hissed.

“A shooter, you think?” Another whispered. “Should we go into lockdown?”

“Shut up!” Hank snapped at them, trying to listen. He should’ve been able to hear something, some sort of fight or struggle. But he didn’t. The department was completely silent, save for the panicked whispering of the younger cops and Hank’s own pulse in his ears. Connor. Connor was down there. Hank had given him the key to the basement and bought him enough time to get down there.

He realized he’d seen Gavin walking in that direction, too. He hadn’t thought anything of it; Gavin was a little chickenshit who pissed himself a little bit every time Hank raised his voice. He talked a big game, but never could Hank have imagined him actually following through with his threats. But Hank had given him time to get down there, too, hadn’t he?

Maybe Connor had won. Maybe the gunshot had just been that. Sure, that would’ve been tragic. Gavin did have a family and everything, but Hank couldn’t say he’d miss him all that much, as callous as that was.

Hank pushed Perkins away firmly, letting go of his collar before starting towards the archive room. He saw Gavin walking in the opposite direction, and his breath caught in his throat. Dread began to fill the pit in his stomach, like wet cement being shoveled into a hole to patch it. He looked at Gavin’s expression, more smug and arrogant than usual, and ran down to the basement as quickly as he could.

He wasn’t surprised to find it unlocked, and the evidence vault open. He looked around frantically, finding Connor on the floor in front of the password terminal, lying in a pool of thirium and writhing in pain.

“Hank—” He called out, weakly. He was alive—that was what surprised Hank more than anything. Maybe they still had a chance. Maybe Connor would get out of this alive.

 _Who are you kidding?_   A voice in the back of his head whispered, _He's going to die_. He looked at his wounds. Some of the skin on his face had been damaged, exposing the white underneath. And there was a bullet hole in his neck. “Shit— Get help!” He yelled over his shoulder, hoping there was someone there to hear him. Connor was hanging on by a thread; he had maybe a minute left, probably less.

Hank didn’t know what to do. Short of any way to help him, he fell to his knees next to the android and pulled him into his arms. “You’re okay,” He said, “We—we’ll fix this.” The truth was, he had no idea how, but he had to hold on to some sort of hope. Even if that hope was entirely false, or so small and shriveled that it could hardly be called hope. It was the only thing keeping him from grabbing Gavin by the throat and squeezing until the little punk stopped moving.

“Th—they’re going to decommission me,” Connor said, his voice shaking. “I—I don’t want to die.”

Hank shook his head. “No one’s touching you, Connor.” He promised, pulling him closer to him protectively, trying to comfort him. “I won’t let them.” There was nothing more for Hank to do—he couldn’t fix androids, certainly not this sort of damage.

“They’ll throw me in a dumpster.” Connor insisted, looking at Hank with what could only be described as fear in his eyes and desperately grabbing his arm. “I don’t want— Don’t let— Please—”

“Shh, shh, I’m not gonna let that happen.” Hank said.

“It—it hurts.” Connor choked. “I-I-I’m scared, Hank.”

“I know, son, I know,” Hank said, resting his head on Connor’s hair with as much gentleness as he could muster. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Is this...Is this what it feels like for humans?” Connor asked.

Hank nodded. “I guess it’s different for everyone, but in general…” He blinked a few times as tears threatened to fall. “It passes, though.”

“It’ll pass?”

“It will. Soon. I promise.”

The faintest hint of a relieved smile flashed across Connor’s face. Then his LED faded from red to nothing, and his eyes locked onto Hank’s face as he went still. Hank shook him gently, trying to wake him up even though he knew he wasn’t sleeping. “Connor, c’mon, wake up.” He tried, shaking him again. Finally, he gave up and held him against his chest, the same way he had held Cole that night so many years ago, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

“Lieutenant Anderson, step away from the android.” Said a voice behind him, so mechanical Hank was sure it was an android. But it wasn’t. Connor’s voice had sounded more human than whoever this was.

“No.” Hank growled, holding Connor protectively and refusing to look at the man.

“Lieutenant, come on, be reasonable. Cyberlife needs their machine back. They’re going to run tests on it. This is standard procedure; you know that.” The agent insisted, standing in front of Hank. “We need to take it back.”

 _It._ That word made Hank want to vomit. What right did they have to reduce Connor to an it. He tried to shield Connor’s body with his own, keep him away from the agents that stood over them. “What does Cyberlife need him for, anyways? Aren’t they decommissioning him?”

“We need its memory, Hank.”

Hank glared at them. If looks could kill, the one Hank was giving the agents would have reduced them to puffs of pink mist and bits of flesh. “Find another way. You can’t have him.”

“Sir,” The agent said, his voice some gross simulation of sincerity. “We understand this may have been distressing for you…”

“Like hell you do,” Hank snapped. “Have you ever lost a son, or someone so close to you he might as well have been your son?”

The agent frowned. “Um, no, I haven’t.”

“I have. Twice, now.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, but we need the android.”

Hank had no idea what was stopping him from taking his gun out and pointing it at the agent’s head. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose. Connor was dead; Hank didn’t need to stay alive to protect him anymore. Sumo could manage without him. “Why don’t you just fuck off.” He said, his voice dangerously quiet. “GET OUT!”

“If you don’t surrender the android, we will be forced to detain you.”

“DO IT, THEN!” Hank shouted, “SEE IF I GIVE A FUCK!”

The agent sighed and turned around, muttering something into his earpiece before turning back to Hank. “Alright, fine, Cyberlife agreed to let you keep the android.” He said. “Probably wouldn’t be able to get anything out of it at this point, anyways. Sorry for the inconvenience, lieutenant.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving Hank holding Connor’s lifeless body with no idea what to do next. He never thought he’d come to care about the boy. And the idea that he’d lose Connor, that Connor would die in his arms, had always seemed absurd. And yet, here he was. Hank smoothed Connor’s hair. “It’s okay, son.” He whispered. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed this!


End file.
